During her six years as a social media coordinator at URI, Michaela Benford has made a space for herself. PHOTO CREDIT: twitter.com
In her sixth year with the University of Rhode Island athletics program, media relations coordinator Michaela Benford has quickly become an integral part of the athletics community.
In her position, Benford serves as the communications liaison between coaches, student-athletes and internal and external media sources. She currently serves as the primary contact for the women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s basketball and men’s and women’s track & field teams.
Benford graduated from Johnson and Wales University in 2016 with a degree in sports, entertainment and event management. Prior to graduation, she completed a three-month internship at Notre Dame as a media relations intern.
“I always knew I wanted to work in the athletics field,” Benford said. “I just didn’t know what exactly. I was coming up on my last semester of senior year, and I needed an internship. I applied to Notre Dame, and the next thing I knew, I was in Indiana. I had never been there before, but I knew I had to take the chance.”
At Notre Dame, Benford learned the ins and outs of the communication department and fell in love with the behind-the-scenes aspect of college athletics.
“I’ll never forget the archive closet at Notre Dame,” Benford said. “There were multiple floors, almost like a library of the entire history of Notre Dame athletics. It was surreal. I started in the winter, but I didn’t want to ever leave. I knew from that point on I wanted to work in Division-1 athletics.”
A South Kingstown native, Benford applied as a media relations assistant at Rhode Island in the summer of 2016. After only a year and a half, Benford was promoted to media relations coordinator.
In her role, Benford has taken the reins on the promotional social media aspect of the job. While the position has many responsibilities, social media is the one component Benford is extremely passionate about.
“I love being able to show off the talent we have here,” Benford said. “Creating content for fans, followers, and putting our student-athletes out there. Social media is constantly evolving, and I love that we get to bring attention to our teams across varying platforms.”
In collaboration with assistant athletic directors Jodi Pontbriand and Shane Donaldson, the three work in unison to ensure Rhody athletics runs effectively on a daily basis.
“Michaela has this sense of eagerness, and she’s not afraid to back down from a fight when something needs to be done,” Pontbriand said. “We call her LJ, Little Jodi, because she is everything I am and more. She’s detail-oriented, driven, and willing to take on any task that comes our way. Every day I see myself in her more and more. It’s amazing and terrifying at the same time.”
Under the leadership of Pontbriand and Donaldson, Benford has excelled in every aspect of media relations.
“She is one of the fastest learners and has improved leaps and bounds across the years she’s been here,” Donaldson said. “She knows the true value of telling a story and can take any moment and look through the lens of the students to better put forth the best content for them. She’s a hybrid between Jodi and I in the best way possible.”
Throughout her tenure with Rhody athletics, Benford has gone above and beyond to become the best version of herself for the Rhode Island community.
“I’ve learned literally everything I know about this job from the both of them,” Benford said. “When it comes to my presence on social media, I’ve gained a sense of confidence and a focus for more candid and organic content. Through them, I found my own voice.”
While the three have a combined 34 years of experience, with Benford around, the future of Rhode Island athletics is promising as ever.